Agriculture: Agri-environment Schemes

The Duke of Montrose: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What has been the total funding by (a) the European Union, and (b) the Government for the agri-environment schemes for each of the past five years.

Lord Rooker: The information for the UK is not held centrally. However, the expenditure on agri-environment schemes operated under the England Rural Development Programme was:
	
		
			  2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 2005-06 
			  £m £m £m £m £m 
			 European 36.5 48.1 57.0 73.1 83.3 
			 Exchequer 59.2 72.4 87.7 108.1 118.7 
			 Total 95.7 120.5 144.7 181.2 202.0 
			 Note: The figures represent actual cash expenditure in each financial year.

Euro

Lord Dykes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the United Kingdom will adopt the euro as its currency, in light of the decision by the Government of the Republic of Cyprus to join the Eurozone on 1 January 2008; and, if so, when.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The Government's policy on membership of the single currency remains as set out by the Chancellor in his Statement to the House of Commons in October 1997, and again in the Chancellor's Statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003.

Gypsies and Travellers

Lord Avebury: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What statistics are available from the Planning Inspectorate of planning appeals in respect of Gypsy and Traveller sites, indicating the number and proportion of appeals which were successful in equivalent periods before and after the coming into force of Circular 1/2006; and, in each case, (a) how many pitches were granted and refused respectively; (b) whether in the cases where permission was granted it was temporary or permanent; and (c) where the permission granted was temporary, for what period it was granted.

Baroness Andrews: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given to Julie Morgan MP by my honourable friend Meg Munn in the other place on 6 November (Official Report, col. 899W).
	In addition, on privately owned sites, planning permission is granted for caravans not pitches. However, the number of caravans for which permission has been granted and the information requested in parts (b) and (c) are not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Health: Hospitals

Baroness Thomas of Winchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, bearing in mind their stated policy of encouraging more choice of healthcare providers, they issue planning policy guidance to local planning authorities for the development of new hospitals.

Baroness Andrews: There is no specific planning policy guidance on the development of hospitals. Planning Policy Statement 1, issued in 2005, sets out the general principles for the preparation of regional spatial strategies and local development documents. Making proper provision for health and ensuring high design standards of new hospital buildings are fundamental requirements of planning for sustainable development.

Imports: Non-EU Countries

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 March 2004 (WA 192), for each of the financial years 2003—04, 2004—05 and 2005—06, how much the United Kingdom collected (gross, before deduction of the 25 per cent handling charge) in import or customs duties on goods, excluding agricultural, fishing, hunting, forestry and aquaculture produce, which were imported into the United Kingdom from countries which were not members of the European Union.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The total net receipts of customs duties collected by the UK on goods, excluding agriculture, hunting, fishing, forestry and aquaculture produce during the financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 are shown in the table below.
	
		
			 2003-04 £1,601 million 
			 2004-05 £1,827 million 
			 2005-06 £1,853 million

Imports: Non-EU Countries

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 March 2004 (WA 192), for each of the financial years 2003—04, 2004—05 and 2005—06, how much the United Kingdom collected (gross, before deduction of the 25 per cent handling charge) in import or customs duties on goods on agricultural, fishing, hunting, forestry and aquaculture produce, which were imported into the United Kingdom from countries which were not members of the European Union.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The total net receipts of agricultural duties collected by the UK on agriculture, hunting, fishing, forestry and aquaculture produce during the financial years 2003—04, 2004—05 and 2005—06 are shown in the table below.
	
		
			 2003-04 £341 million 
			 2004-05 £368 million 
			 2005-06 £404 million

Imports: Non-EU Countries

Lord Pearson of Rannoch: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord McIntosh of Haringey on 11 March 2004 (WA 193), for each of the financial years 2003—04, 2004—05 and 2005—06, what was the value of agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce imported into the United Kingdom from countries which were not members of the European Union; and
	For each of the financial years 2003—04, 2004—05 and 2005—06, what was the value of goods, excluding agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce, imported into the United Kingdom from countries which were not members of the European Union.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: UK imports of agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce from non-EU countries for the financial years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06, together with total non-EU imports excluding agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce from non-EU countries, are shown in the table.
	
		
			 Values of UK imports of agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce imported from non-EU countries and total non-EU imports excluding agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce from non-EU countries 
			 £000s 
			 Period1 Agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce Total imports excluding agriculture, fishing, hunting and aquaculture produce 
			 2003-04 2,804,489 108,341,028 
			 2004-05 2,840,516 112,914,269 
			 2005-06 3,201,063 128,707,236 
			 1 Financial Years   
			 Source: HM Revenue & Customs, Overseas Trade Statistics

Israel and Palestine: Settlement Products

The Earl of Sandwich: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will propose to the European Union in December a review of the technical arrangements for settlement products made in Israel which come under the European Union-Israel Association Agreement.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The European Union is already undertaking periodic reviews of the operation of the technical arrangements which have applied since 1 February 2005.

Railways: Community Rail Awards

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 3 November (WA 78), how much sponsorship will be provided by the Department for Transport in respect of the Community Rail Awards this year.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The cost of sponsoring an award in the Community Rail Awards in 2006 was £500. Details of sponsorship for the 2007 awards are not yet available.

Railways: North-west

Lord Bradshaw: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 7 November (WA 144), why, bearing in mind that passenger numbers are increasing at 7 per cent per annum, their forecasted increase for the use of trains in the north-west region in the period between 2002—03 and 2031—32 is 2.1 per cent per annum.

Lord Davies of Oldham: The figure of 2.1 per cent per annum refers to growth in gross domestic product (GDP), which, along with changes in population, employment and fares, influences demand for rail.

Rural Payments Agency

Lord Willoughby de Broke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Rural Payments Agency has satisfactorily tested information technology systems for a partial payments system.

Lord Rooker: The system is undergoing rigorous testing now. There are three phases to the testing: unit testing, which tests the individual programs; system testing, which tests how all the programs work together at a technical level; and user acceptance testing, which ensures that the system is usable in an efficient manner by operations staff.

Schools: Sport

Baroness Verma: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	How many additional specialist physical education staff are to be employed for each of the years 2006 to 2010 to meet the commitment to ensure that all United Kingdom school children have at least four hours sport inside the school curriculum each week.

Lord Adonis: Initial teacher training places allocated for physical education in England in 2006-07 are 1,310 and in 2007-08 are 1,180, reflecting the continuing decline in pupil numbers over this period. Allocations for later years have not yet been decided, but our supply modelling will take account of schools' needs and the national school sport strategy.

Schools: Sport

Baroness Verma: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which subjects are to be dropped from the national curriculum to make way for their commitment of 25 October to raise the number of hours of sport offered to children within the curriculum to at least four hours by 2010: and
	What estimates they have made of the additional cost to the public purse of their commitment to offer children within the curriculum at least four hours of sport by 2010 over the years between now and the hosting of the London Olympic Games in 2012; and
	Whether they held negotiations with the relevant trade unions regarding the additional staffing and skills required to achieve their target of providing all school children with at least four hours of sport within the curriculum by 2010.

Lord Adonis: The Government announced their long-term ambition for PE and school sport in December 2004. The main aim is that by 2010 all children will be offered at least four hours of sport a week. This will comprise two hours of high-quality PE and sport at school, and the opportunity for at least a further two to three hours beyond the school day, delivered by a range of school, community and club providers. Additional funding of £519 million has been committed to deliver on this ambition in 2006-07 and 2007-08. Funding for future years will be announced following the outcome of the next Comprehensive Spending Review.
	No national curriculum subjects will be dropped from the curriculum in order to deliver the 2010 ambition.
	We have held no negotiations with the teachers' unions specifically about the 2010 ambition. Any demand for additional teachers to deliver the school elements of the 2010 ambition will be taken into account, as normal, by the teacher supply modelling exercise. The PE and school sport professional development programme will ensure that teachers have the skills and expertise they need to continue to deliver high-quality PE and school sport for young people.

Sport: Fitness Programme

Lord Luke: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the Chancellor of the Exchequer will cost the new sports and fitness programme, announced on 25 October, in his Pre-Budget Report.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: Future public spending plans for sport will form part of the Comprehensive Spending Review.

St Andrews Agreement

Lord Laird: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What extra funding is being made available to Northern Ireland as a result of the St Andrews agreement of 2006.

Lord McKenzie of Luton: The details of the St Andrews agreement funding package announced on 1 November are set out in the attached Treasury press notice at www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom _and_speeches/press/2006/press_82_06.cfm.
	The funding package announced on 1 November includes previously announced spending of £8.5 billion in 2007-08 and the greater part of the £16 billion investment strategy from 2005 to 2015.